The Truth Of You
by bite-or-avoid
Summary: Temperance Brennan does not believe in psychics. B/B Post-ep tag for 5x01 The Harbingers In The Fountain


**Title**: The Truth Of You**  
****Author**: Anna (bite_or_avoid)  
**Pairing**: Booth/Brennan**  
****Rating**: G  
**Word Count**: 681  
**Disclaimer**: Nope, not mine  
**Spoilers**: Post-ep Brennan-POV tag for 5x01~ The Harbingers In The Fountain

* * *

Temperance Brennan is undeniably a genius. She may not be good with people like Angela, may not be able to read the minutiae of body language and vocal inflections like Booth and Sweets, may not have the insight to cut right down to the metaphorical heart of the matter like Cam or Hodgins. Her strength where others falter lies in her infallible deductive reasoning. And, it is for this reason, for the reason that she _is_ a genius and can discern black and white where others may only see shades of gray, that it doesn't take her long to extrapolate several facts to their logical conclusion. So, when she sits alone in her apartment and allows her slightly subdued mind to wander over the past several days, the seemingly indecipherable inside secret between Booth and Avalon Harmonia suddenly becomes crystal clear. Namely, it occurs to her that she knows exactly 'what all' works out eventually. And the reason she knows this is because once, long before a brain tumor robbed him of his memory, Booth told her that very same thing himself.

She wonders if he remembers that.

There is still disappointment burning bitter in her chest, and she recognizes it for what it is. His hasty retraction neither proves nor refutes her conclusions; it only leads her to believe that he is as confused as she. She wants things to be normal between them, believes they can be and they will be, yet she no longer has a concept of what normal is supposed to be. The things she feels despite herself—she can ignore them, but there is no way to shove them back into the depths from whence they came. She thinks of a psychic's words and the irrational emotions swell inside her again, overwhelming and terrifying. The answer to a question she wouldn't dare ask, not even of herself.

_ He knows the truth of you, and he's dazzled by that truth._

The look in his eyes confirms it, the strength of his grip on her body, the press of his lips in her hair. The words that tumble from his mouth in a moment of unguarded honesty, intimacies unchecked but most certainly intended. Words that he's spoken to her in the past, but never with such urgency, never with so much passion on each passing breath and such an overt promise dripping off of every syllable.

_Just trust me, alright. _

_ I'm gonna take care of you._

_ I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere._

He knows that these are things she needs to hear, whether or not she'll ever admit it. He has always known her, has always given of himself, and she has let him. The riddle she cannot solve is not why _someone_ would love her. When she rejects Avalon's assumptions, it isn't unwarranted vanity or false bravado. She _is_ beautiful and intelligent, and any man would be lucky to have her. She knows this. But what she can't explain, what she wants desperately to understand is _why_ Booth knows her in these ways, and why she lets him. And, while she has never been one to dwell, one moment continues to replay itself in her mind like an old skipping record.

_I've got you, baby. _

It's the _baby_ that is the final piece of evidence—of his forgotten boundaries, of her true needs. Booth let the word slip, but she allowed it. She clung to him, seeking his warmth and strength to carry her to the only safe place she has ever known. This is a weakness she can no longer deny. And in his affirmations, desperate in their intensity, she found a peace that she desires to experience again.

_Eventually…_

Temperance Brennan does not believe in psychics. Rationally, she knows that Avalon's gifts lie in reading people, not some tarot card that shows a predestined future. The woman's judgments are about as reliable as Sweets' psychological ramblings. But, against all reason and logic, alone on her couch yet still enveloped in his unrelenting grasp, the genius Dr. Brennan wants a psychic to be right.

_Fin._


End file.
